**Abstract**

Plants have been in use in traditional medicine since antiquity, and many active metabolic products with biological significance are obtained from them. Recently, pharmaceutical industries have developed great interest in utilizing these products as an alternative to the chemically synthesized drugs. This is due to the discovery of important new medicines from the plants, because of studies on how people of different background use plants as cure and treatment for many diseases, and side effects of the synthesized drugs. Banana, an eatable fruit produced by some herbaceous flowering plants of the genus *Musa*, is one of the valuable fruits with proven pharmacological potentials. Bananas are spread almost all over the world. Different chemical constituents like apigenin glycosides, myricetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, dopamine, and serotonin have been reported in different parts and varieties of banana. The presence of carbohydrate, proteins as well as flavonoids, makes bananas useful in both nutrition and therapeutics. Pharmacologically, bananas have been shown to possess antiulcer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. This chapter discusses the essential information on banana, including its varieties, distribution, pharmacological actions, and its relevance in pharmaceutical industries. This will be beneficial for researchers to further harness the robustness of this fruit in controlling many diseases and modification of drugs.

**Keywords:** banana, traditional medicine, phyto-constituents, pharmacological activities, pharmaceutical formulation

## **1. Introduction**

The general term "banana" describes the cultivated varieties of the genus *Musa*, made up of two subgroups, the sweet bananas and plantain [1]. It has different parts, such as fruit, peel, leaves, roots, and pseudostem, which have shown various pharmacological effects [2]. Banana is of great use both traditionally and pharmacologically and this is attributed to the presence of its diverse phyto-constituents as the pulp and peel extracts of banana are shown to have fatty acids, steryl esters, and sterols, besides oleic and linoleic acids [3]. The fruit is also a rich source of valuable phytonutrients, including phenolic compounds and vitamins [4, 5]. The bioactive components produced by plant secondary metabolism, in addition to elements such as phosphorus, and potassium, have obvious therapeutic potential by contributing toward its pharmacological activities [6].

Various parts of ripe and unripe forms of banana plant have been shown to possess prominent anti-diabetic [7], antiulcer [8], and radical scavenging activities. Lately, banana has been utilized as a vector for many vaccines due to increased bioavailability and easy administration [9]. Not only that, pectin extracted from banana is said to be used as pharmaceutical excipient in tablet formulation [10]. This chapter focuses mainly on the pharmacological studies that validate the traditional uses of banana for different types of diseases and highlights the geographical distribution of banana and its uses in pharmaceutical industries.

#### **2. Banana phyto-constituents**

Several researches have been carried out to determine the phyto-constituents of various parts of banana. The flower of *Musa paradisiaca* was reported to contain tannins, saponins, reducing and non-reducing sugars, sterols, and triterpenes. In addition, hemiterpenoid glucoside (1,1-dimethylallyl alcohol), syringin, and benzyl alcohol glucoside have been isolated from the flower [11]. The structure of a tetracyclic triterpene isolated from the flowers of *Musa paradisiaca* was established as (24R)-4α-14α, 24-trimethyl-5-cholesta-8, 25 (27)-dien-3β-oil [12]. Banana bracts were also investigated as a potential source of natural colorants. Monomeric anthocyanin content was found to be 32.30 mg/100 g. Other anthocyanins include 3-rutinoside derivatives of delphinidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin [13].

Banana pulp contains antioxidants, including, vitamins, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds such as catechin, epicatechin, lignin, tannins, flavonoids as well as anthocyanins [14]. Serotonin, norepinephrine, tryptophan, indole compounds, starch, iron, crystallizable and non-crystallizable sugars, vitamin C, B-vitamins, fats, and mineral salts have been noted in the fruit pulp of *Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum* [15]. Cellulose, hemicelluloses, and amino acids like arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, and threonine have been isolated from the pulp and peel of *Musa paradisiaca* [16]. Acyl steryl glycosides like sitoindoside-I, II, III, and IV as well as steryl glycosides such as sitosterol gentiobioside,


**9**

*Pharmacological Activities of Banana*

**Figure 2.**

**Figure 3.**

*Structure of lignin [70].*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.83299*

sitosterol myo-inositol-β-D-glucoside were isolated from the fruit of *Musa paradisiaca* [17]. Banana peel is generally discarded as a waste; however, it is a very rich source of important phyto-constituents. The peel contains 6–9% dry matter of protein and 20–30% fiber. Usually the ripe banana peels contain 30% free sugar and 15% more starch than green banana peels. Moreover, banana peel is a good source of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose with variety of active functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine) [18, 19]. Phytochemical analysis of *Musa paradisiaca* and *Musa acuminata* peels revealed the presence of phenols, carbohydrates, terpenoids, and saponins [20]. The presence of such potent phyto-constituents in banana makes it a great target for nutritional and therapeutic researches. The structures of some of the important isolated compounds in banana are shown in **Figures 1**–**3**.

Banana has various pharmacological effects. The prominent ones of more

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are oxygen radicals with unpaired electron involved in both physiological and pathological conditions. Antioxidants, on the other hand, prevent free radical damage by scavenging the radicals. Banana con-

The antioxidant property of banana peel extracts *(Musa paradisiaca L.)* was explored using a group of rats exposed to a normal diet and compared to another

tains various compounds that exert such antioxidant activity [21].

**3. Pharmacological activities of banana**

*The class of flavonoid present in banana fruit (Flavan-3-ol) [70].*

**3.1 Antioxidant activity**

relevance to health care are discussed in this section.

**Figure 1.**

*General structure of anthocyanin and some common anthocyanins found in banana [69].*

*Pharmacological Activities of Banana DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.83299*

**Figure 2.** *Structure of lignin [70].*

*Banana Nutrition - Function and Processing Kinetics*

**2. Banana phyto-constituents**

Various parts of ripe and unripe forms of banana plant have been shown to possess prominent anti-diabetic [7], antiulcer [8], and radical scavenging activities. Lately, banana has been utilized as a vector for many vaccines due to increased bioavailability and easy administration [9]. Not only that, pectin extracted from banana is said to be used as pharmaceutical excipient in tablet formulation [10]. This chapter focuses mainly on the pharmacological studies that validate the traditional uses of banana for different types of diseases and highlights the geographical

Several researches have been carried out to determine the phyto-constituents of various parts of banana. The flower of *Musa paradisiaca* was reported to contain tannins, saponins, reducing and non-reducing sugars, sterols, and triterpenes. In addition, hemiterpenoid glucoside (1,1-dimethylallyl alcohol), syringin, and benzyl alcohol glucoside have been isolated from the flower [11]. The structure of a tetracyclic triterpene isolated from the flowers of *Musa paradisiaca* was established as (24R)-4α-14α, 24-trimethyl-5-cholesta-8, 25 (27)-dien-3β-oil [12]. Banana bracts were also investigated as a potential source of natural colorants. Monomeric anthocyanin content was found to be 32.30 mg/100 g. Other anthocyanins include 3-rutinoside derivatives of delphinidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin [13]. Banana pulp contains antioxidants, including, vitamins, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds such as catechin, epicatechin, lignin, tannins, flavonoids as well as anthocyanins [14]. Serotonin, norepinephrine, tryptophan, indole compounds, starch, iron, crystallizable and non-crystallizable sugars, vitamin C, B-vitamins, fats, and mineral salts have been noted in the fruit pulp of *Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum* [15]. Cellulose, hemicelluloses, and amino acids like arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, and threonine have been isolated from the pulp and peel of *Musa paradisiaca* [16]. Acyl steryl glycosides like sitoindoside-I, II, III, and IV as well as steryl glycosides such as sitosterol gentiobioside,

distribution of banana and its uses in pharmaceutical industries.

**8**

**Figure 1.**

*General structure of anthocyanin and some common anthocyanins found in banana [69].*

#### **Figure 3.** *The class of flavonoid present in banana fruit (Flavan-3-ol) [70].*

sitosterol myo-inositol-β-D-glucoside were isolated from the fruit of *Musa paradisiaca* [17]. Banana peel is generally discarded as a waste; however, it is a very rich source of important phyto-constituents. The peel contains 6–9% dry matter of protein and 20–30% fiber. Usually the ripe banana peels contain 30% free sugar and 15% more starch than green banana peels. Moreover, banana peel is a good source of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose with variety of active functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine) [18, 19]. Phytochemical analysis of *Musa paradisiaca* and *Musa acuminata* peels revealed the presence of phenols, carbohydrates, terpenoids, and saponins [20]. The presence of such potent phyto-constituents in banana makes it a great target for nutritional and therapeutic researches. The structures of some of the important isolated compounds in banana are shown in **Figures 1**–**3**.
